# 2005–06 West Ham United F.C. season

During the 2005–06 season, West Ham United competed in the FA Premier League, following promotion from the Football League Championship the previous season.

## Season summary

West Ham had barely scraped into the top six of the Championship the previous season before gaining promotion via the play-offs, so few gave the Hammers much hope of Premiership survival. However, West Ham surprised their naysayers to stand fourth at the end of October after 11 points from their opening six games. A run of mediocre form saw West Ham fall to tenth, before a run of five straight wins between January and February, including a 3–2 win at Arsenal, which saw the Hammers become the last side to beat Arsenal at Highbury, saw them rise to sixth. Alan Pardew won the Manager of the Month award for February. Several more good results, including a 2–1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the season that denied the North London side Champions League qualification, saw West Ham finish in ninth, above Everton, Middlesbrough and Manchester City.
West Ham's best form came in the FA Cup, where they overcame Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough to reach the FA Cup final – their first since 1980 – against a Liverpool side that were the reigning European champions and finished third in the Premiership. In spite of the odds, West Ham took a 2–0 lead within the first half-hour and also led 3–2 before a Steven Gerrard equalised at the end of normal time. Extra time proved goalless and a penalty shoot-out was required. Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who had made several errors in the match, saved from Bobby Zamora, Paul Konchesky and Anton Ferdinand to give Liverpool a 3–1 win. However, as Liverpool had already qualified for the Champions League, West Ham qualified for the UEFA Cup.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 56 | |
| 9 | West Ham United | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 55 | −3 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 10 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 51 | |
| 11 | Everton | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 50 | |
* ↑ Since Liverpool had already qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup berth as the FA Cup winners went to West Ham, who were the FA Cup runners-up.

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | NIR | Roy Carroll |
| 2 | DF | ARG | Lionel Scaloni (on loan from Deportivo La Coruña) |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Paul Konchesky |
| 4 | DF | WAL | Danny Gabbidon |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Anton Ferdinand |
| 6 | MF | WAL | Carl Fletcher |
| 7 | DF | SCO | Christian Dailly |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Teddy Sheringham |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Dean Ashton |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Marlon Harewood |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Matthew Etherington |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Stephen Bywater |
| 15 | MF | ISR | Yossi Benayoun |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | FW | ISR | Yaniv Katan |
| 19 | DF | WAL | James Collins |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Nigel Reo-Coker (captain) |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Elliott Ward |
| 23 | GK | ENG | Jimmy Walker |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Mark Noble |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Bobby Zamora |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Shaun Newton |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Hogan Ephraim |
| 30 | DF | IRL | Clive Clarke |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Darren Blewitt |
| 34 | GK | TRI | Shaka Hislop |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Kyel Reid |
| 41 | GK | ENG | Matthew Reed |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | CZE | Tomáš Řepka (to Sparta Prague) |
| 12 | MF | NIR | Steve Lomas (to Queens Park Rangers) |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Chris Cohen (on loan to Yeovil Town) |
| 16 | MF | WAL | Gavin Williams (to Ipswich Town) |
| 18 | FW | FRA | Youssef Sofiane (to Coventry City) |
| 21 | DF | SCO | Malky Mackay (to Watford) |
| 21 | FW | FRA | David Bellion (on loan from Manchester United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 27 | FW | CZE | Petr Mikolanda (on loan to Rushden and Diamonds) |
| 28 | MF | AUS | Trent McClenahan (on loan to Milton Keynes Dons) |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Tony Stokes (on loan to Rushden & Diamonds) |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Moses Ashikodi (to Rangers) |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Luke Chadwick (to Stoke City) |
| 39 | FW | FRA | Jérémie Aliadière (on loan from Arsenal) |

## Statistics
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier League | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 55 | −3 | 042.11 |
| FA Cup | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 071.43 |
| League Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 050.00 |
| Total | 47 | 22 | 8 | 17 | 70 | 66 | +4 | 046.81 |

### Goalscorers

| Rank | Pos | No. | Nat | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | ST | 10 | | Marlon Harewood | 14 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| 2 | ST | 25 | | Bobby Zamora | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | ST | 8 | | Teddy Sheringham | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | ST | 9 | | Dean Ashton | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | MF | 15 | | Yossi Benayoun | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | MF | 20 | | Nigel Reo-Coker | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | MF | 11 | | Matthew Etherington | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | DF | 3 | | Paul Konchesky | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | DF | 5 | | Anton Ferdinand | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | DF | 19 | | James Collins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | 6 | | Carl Fletcher | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 7 | | Christian Dailly | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 17 | | Hayden Mullins | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | ST | 20 | | David Bellion | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 26 | | Shaun Newton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 52 | 14 | 4 | 66 |

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | NIR | Roy Carroll | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Stephen Bywater | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | ENG | Jimmy Walker | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | GK | TRI | Shaka Hislop | 25 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | CZE | Tomáš Řepka | 22 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ARG | Lionel Scaloni | 17 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Paul Konchesky | 45 | 2 | 36+1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | WAL | Daniel Gabbidon | 39 | 0 | 31+1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Anton Ferdinand | 38 | 2 | 32+1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | SCO | Christian Dailly | 30 | 1 | 6+16 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Chris Cohen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | WAL | James Collins | 19 | 2 | 13+1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Elliott Ward | 6 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | IRL | Clive Clarke | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | WAL | Carl Fletcher | 17 | 1 | 6+6 | 1 | 1+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Matthew Etherington | 40 | 3 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ISR | Yossi Benayoun | 40 | 5 | 30+4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | WAL | Gavin Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins | 42 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Nigel Reo-Coker | 38 | 5 | 31 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Mark Noble | 6 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Shaun Newton | 30 | 1 | 8+18 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Tony Stokes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Kyel Reid | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 8 | FW | ENG | Teddy Sheringham | 31 | 7 | 15+11 | 6 | 1+3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Dean Ashton | 16 | 6 | 9+2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Marlon Harewood | 46 | 16 | 31+6 | 14 | 6+1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ISR | Yaniv Katan | 8 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | FRA | David Bellion | 10 | 1 | 2+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Bobby Zamora | 42 | 10 | 17+17 | 6 | 2+5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Hogan Ephraim | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | FRA | Jérémie Aliadière | 8 | 0 | 1+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 5 July 2005 | DF | Paul Konchesky | Charlton Athletic | £2m |
| 5 July 2005 | DF | Danny Gabbidon | Cardiff City | £4.5m |
| 5 July 2005 | DF | James Collins | Cardiff City | £4.5m |
| 7 July 2005 | ST | Petr Mikolanda | Viktoria Žižkov | Undisclosed |
| 19 July 2005 | MF | Yossi Benayoun | Racing Santander | £2.5M |
| 29 July 2005 | GK | Shaka Hislop | Portsmouth | Free |
| 1 August 2005 | DF | Clive Clarke | Stoke City | £275,000 |
| 17 August 2005 | ST | David Bellion | Manchester United | Loan |
| 25 August 2005 | ST | Jérémie Aliadière | Arsenal | Loan |
| 31 August 2005 | MF | Sekou Baradji | Lens | Undisclosed |
| 1 January 2006 | ST | Yaniv Katan | Maccabi Haifa | Undisclosed |
| 23 January 2006 | ST | Dean Ashton | Norwich City | £7.25m |
| 1 February 2006 | DF | Lionel Scaloni | Deportivo La Coruña | Loan |
* ↑ The £4.5m to Cardiff City was a joint fee for both Daniel Gabbidon and James Collins

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 June 2005 | DF | Andy Melville | Retired | Retired |
| 7 June 2005 | ST | Serhii Rebrov | Dynamo Kyiv | Free |
| 22 June 2005 | DF | Rufus Brevett | Plymouth Argyle | Free |
| 22 June 2005 | ST | Greg Pearson | Rushden & Diamonds | Undisclosed |
| 11 July 2005 | DF | Chris Powell | Charlton Athletic | Free |
| 5 August 2005 | MF | Don Hutchison | Millwall | Free |
| 3 August 2005 | GK | Stephen Bywater | Coventry City | Loan |
| 4 August 2005 | MF | Luke Chadwick | Stoke City | Loan |
| 15 August 2005 | ST | Moses Ashikodi | Gillingham | Loan |
| 19 August 2005 | DF | Malky Mackay | Watford | Free |
| 31 August 2005 | MF | Steve Lomas | Queens Park Rangers | Free |
| 31 August 2005 | MF | Sekou Baradji | Reading | Loan |
| 14 October 2005 | ST | Youssef Sofiane | Coventry City | Free |
| 7 November 2005 | DF | Chris Cohen | Yeovil Town | Loan |
| 8 November 2005 | MF | Gavin Williams | Ipswich Town | Loan |
| 3 January 2006 | DF | Trent McClenahan | MK Dons | Loan |
| 11 January 2006 | ST | Moses Ashikodi | Rangers | Free |
| 23 January 2006 | DF | Tomáš Řepka | Sparta Prague | Free |
| 31 January 2006 | ST | Petr Mikolanda | Rushden & Diamonds | Loan |